By compiling and publishing the 'Joint Arab Economic Report', currently being released in the form of a periodical series, the specialized Arab economic organizations have established a new tradition.

With the aim of the outcome being a collective Arab effort, the Secretariat General of the Arab League, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, and the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) have taken part in the preparation of this report.

The concept behind the report was perhaps inspired by the 'World Development Report', annually published by the World Bank, to present the World Bank's perspective on international economic developments.

In light of the current international developments, it was natural for the concept behind the report to take on a special importance, as virtually all the international conditions and developments call for the crystallization of a joint Arab perspective in face of the challenges and developments influencing the Arab economy due to the turbulent times of our region.

While there is a lot of room left for further improvements in terms of the substance and content of the 'Joint Arab Economic Report', both from the methodological and analytical points of view, more coordinative Arab steps are required in face of the external challenges before the Arab region in the coming years.

It is no longer a secret that the next ten years are going to be tough, as the winds are no longer blowing in the Arab region's direction in terms of capital, oil, or commodity markets, making it extremely important for the Arab region to wake up after long years of complacence and being 'drunk' on petrol.

On the heels of the 'Joint Arab Economic Report' is a new Arab initiative in the form of the preparation of a unified Arab address to be delivered on behalf of the 'Arab Group' at key international functions and conventions.

The first actual implementation of this idea came during the annual joint meeting for the World Bank and the Intentional Monetary Fund, held in the North Korean capital city of Seoul on October 7, 2006.

An agreement was reached that Algeria would deliver the Arab address in the name of the Arab Group in these meetings, with the aim of conveying the Arab point of view on a number of key world economic structural developments affecting the future of growth and development in the Arab region.

Therefore, it may be wise to assume that the drive to establish ground rules for the unified Arab address must be supported, backed and developed in order to successfully unify the voice of the Arabs at international gatherings, in which major industrial countries - politically and technically well prepared - speak in a unified voice. It has even become customary for leaders of major industrial countries to hold special summit meetings to coordinate their stances and unify their voice with respect to demands by the developing countries.

Along this line, Latin American nations have taken impressive strides toward the creation of a unified vision and highly coordinated stances regarding the main economic issues and challenges, high on the agendas of key international economic conventions.

Therefore, it is high time for the Arab Group to coordinate their stances and crystallize a common perspective toward economic challenges and problems beleaguering the future of growth and development in the Arab region.

However, unifying stances and voices is far from simply being a matter of formality. It is rather a laborious and thorny process calling for a collective effort that transcends the short-term and selfish interests of each and every Arab quarter individually.

In light of the multitude of varying political systems in each country, as well as the varying degrees of economic growth and levels of development of productive forces across the different Arab countries, the issue of the unified Arab address becomes highly challenging and complex. It essentially stands to represent the outcome of many delicate balances between the interests and the special circumstances of each Arab State (or group of Arab States), on the one hand, and the special relations connecting some Arab countries with the wheels of world economy in the fields of trade, capital, and energy, on the other.

It is worth pointing out, however, that the unified Arab address is essentially an integral part of the address of Third World countries in their unified struggle for a 'new system of world economy' that would guarantee more fairness and equality.

Still, the exclusivity of the historic circumstances witnessed by the Arab region, where oil countries export capital surplus lies side by side with others struggling under heavy debts, entails further coordination of stances and the best use of available and appropriate trump cards for achieving common Arab prosperity.

Taking the issue of the unified Arab address beyond the scope of hopes and protocolary formalities, it becomes necessary to develop a common Arab vision though implementing mechanisms based on the most basic of the Arab countries' common interests through a relatively laborious, but not impossible, negotiations process, and which is an important requirement for realizing the unified Arab address on realistic and pragmatic bases.

Between the Report and the Arab Unified Address

The author of this article, Mahmoud Abdul Fadil, is a professor of economics at Cairo University.